
By DarkSkyLady
Communism and Invasion of the Body Snatchers, STDs and It Follows, appropriation of Black people/culture, and Get Out - social issues and horror films go together like blood on a knife. Scary movies are the perfect avenue to engage with an audience while highlighting issues, societal fears, and prejudices. When done well, it can spark a discussion and invite a call for justice without soapbox preachiness. Or be a cautionary tale of a dreadful future. Two films that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2022, Nanny and Master, use horror to address the terror and stress that existing in a white supremacist society causes.
Microaggressions and gaslighting are everyday experiences among marginalized communities. The amount increases at intersections of oppression. For the protagonists in both films (Aisha from Nanny and Gail and Jasmine from Master), the supernatural horror of spirits and nightmares takes a back seat to the inescapable white horror of microaggressions, racism, biases, and harassment. Gail and Jasmine in Master try to navigate the education system in a majority white institution, while in Nanny, Aisha works as the titular nanny to a white family in New York in order to bring her son from Senegal.
In Master, the microaggressions start immediately for Jasmine (Zoe Renee), as the white woman at the college check-in laughs when she realizes that Jasmine got the room. She then debates with the other white student helpers whether they should tell Jasmine what is so funny. It is as though Black women do not exist in the face of whiteness. The discomfort puts Jasmine at a disadvantage that increases steadily throughout the film. When drinking with her roommate and their friends, alcohol spills on the floor; they ask Jasmine to clean it up. The horror in Master is, on its face, supernatural elements - the creepy story of a witch who claims a first-year student each year, the maggots. However, the film's true terror is Black women's invisibility, simultaneous hypervisibility, and the toll it takes.
More from Sundance Institute
17/10/2026
By Ramona Flume
Speaking out against injustice rarely comes without a price. Th...
16/10/2026
(Suzanne Cordeiro/Shutterstock for Sundance Film Festival)
By Patty Consolazio
...
13/10/2026
By Ramona Flume
One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festiva...
12/10/2026
By Katie Arthurs
Merata Mita (1942-2010), the legendary M ori filmmaker, godmot...
10/10/2026
By Jessica Herndon
One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Fest...
08/10/2026
David France, Jesse Short Bull, Mato Wayuhi, N. Bird Runningwater, Jodi Archambau, Jhane Myers, Paul McGuire, Amber Morning Star Byars, Holly Macarro, Nick Tils...
03/10/2026
Olivia Colman stars in Wicker, which premiered at the 2026 Sundance Film Festi...
01/10/2026
The Partnership Will Support Filmmakers Worldwide Through Original Short Films I...
30/09/2026
By Ramona Flume
One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festiva...
29/09/2026
19 Nonfiction Projects Across All Stages of Production to Receive More Than $1 million in Support as Documentary Film Program Approaches 25th Anniversary
LOS ...
28/09/2026
Director Josef Kubota Wladyka attends the premiere of Ha-Chan, Shake Your Booty! with the film's cast and crew at Eccles Theatre on January 22, 2026, in P...
26/09/2026
Douglas Keeve attends the 2025 Sundance Film Festival screening of Unzipped at the Egyptian Theatre. (Photo by Andrew H. Walker/Shutterstock for Sundance Film...
23/09/2026
Alexander Heller, Nevada Jose, Will Brill, and Giselle Bonilla pose with cast members at The Musical premiere during the 2026 Sundance Film Festival at Eccles...
22/09/2026
Sam Hazeldine, Austin Amelio, Padraic McKinley, Julia Jones, and Ethan Hawke attend the premiere of The Weight at The Ray Theatre on January 26, 2026, in Park...
16/09/2026
John Wilson attends The History of Concrete premiere during the 2026 Sundance Film Festival at The Yarrow Theatre on January 22, 2026, in Park City, Utah. (Ph...
14/09/2026
By Bailey Pennick
One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festival is having a front-row seat for the bright future of independent filmmaking. ...
12/09/2026
J. Alphonse Nicholson, Danielle Brooks, Walter Thompson-Hernandez, and Bodhi Dell attend the premiere of If I Go Will They Miss Me at the Library Center Theat...
11/09/2026
By Ramona Flume and Lucy Spicer
There's a particular kind of magic that hap...
11/09/2026
By Jessica Herndon
The fall film season is kicking off, and Sundance Institute-...
07/09/2026
By Ramona Flume and Lucy Spicer
There's a particular kind of magic that hap...
28/08/2026
(L-R) Topher Grace, Cristin Milioti, Delaney Quinn, Casper Kelly, and Keegan-Michael Key pose with the character Buddy at the Buddy Premiere during the 2026 S...
25/08/2026
Announcing the 2026 Sundance Institute Breakthrough | Focus Features Fellows
L...
22/08/2026
O'Shea Jackson Jr., Dave Franco, and Mason Thames appear in Idiots by Macon Blair, an official selection of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. (Courtesy of ...
19/08/2026
(L-R) Rafael Manuel and Isabel Sicat attend the Filipi ana premiere during the 2026 Sundance Film Festival at The Ray Theatre on January 23, 2026, in Park Cit...
12/08/2026
Writer-Director Andrius Bla evi ius and crew attend the premiere of How to Divorce During the War at The Ray Theatre on January 26, 2026, in Park City, UT. (P...
07/08/2026
O'Shea Jackson Jr., Dave Franco, and Mason Thames appear in Idiots by Macon Blair, an official selection of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. (Courtesy of ...
05/08/2026
Adam Meeks attends the premiere of his film Union County, an official selection of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. (Photo by Jemal Countess/Sundance Institut...
03/08/2026
(L-R) Nyah B., Nala B., Shannon Elizabeth S., Celia K., Olive G., and Nikki B. attend the Q&A for Cookie Queens by Alysa Nahmias, an official selection of the...
31/07/2026
The 2026 Sundance Institute Directors Lab fellows in Estes Park, Colorado (Photo by Gabe Rovick)
Dear Friends,
This has been an extraordinary year for our ar...
30/07/2026
LOS ANGELES, CA, July 30, 2026 - The nonprofit Sundance Institute today announce...
29/07/2026
By Bailey Pennick
One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festival is having a front-row seat for the bright future of independent filmmaking. ...
27/07/2026
Today the nonprofit Sundance Institute shared the names of this year's cohor...
20/07/2026
By Lucy Spicer
One of the most exciting things about the Sundance Film Festival is having a front-row seat for the bright future of independent filmmaking. Whi...
17/07/2026
(L-R) Edward James Olmos, Luis Valdez, Lou Diamond Phillips and Lupe Valdez attend American Pachuco: The Legend Of Luis Valdez Premiere during the 2026 Sundan...
13/07/2026
LOS ANGELES, July 13, 2026 - Sundance Institute today announced the 10 producers selected to participate in its annual Producers Labs taking place July 13-18 fo...
11/07/2026
(L-R) Bruce McKenzie, Mimi Rogers, Cemre Paksoy, Georgia Bernstein, El onore Hendricks, and Colleen Rose Trundy attend the Night Nurse premiere during the 202...
10/07/2026
(L-R) Michael Arndt, Paul Dano, Toni Collette, Valerie Faris, Abigail Breslin, Jonathan Dayton, and Greg Kinnear attend the Park City Legacy program screening o...
08/07/2026
The International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) and the Sundance Film Festival are pleased to announce the establishment of a FIPRESCI jury beginning wi...
02/07/2026
Zoey Deutch, John Slattery, Ken Marino, Miles Gutierrez-Riley, and Ben Wang appe...
27/06/2026
There's no doubt that you've seen the world through Amy Vincent's ey...
22/06/2026
By Kristin Feeley, Director, Documentary Film & Artist Programs
the memories of your elders [are] a scaffolding for you to build your identity on - and t...
18/06/2026
Top L-R: Take Me Home, The Lake
Bottom L-R: TheyDream, Union County
Free Summer Screening Series Announced
Screenings for the Local Utah Community at...
15/06/2026
Ten Emerging Filmmakers Ages 18 to 25 Will Start Fellowship Year at Ignite Lab from June 14-19
LOS ANGELES, CA, June 15, 2026 - The nonprofit Sundance Institut...
11/06/2026
Laura Dern at the 1986 Sundance Institute Directors Lab (Photo by Eric Edwards)
By Lucy Spicer
It takes a village to bring together the Sundance Institute lab...
10/06/2026
A still from The Doom Generation by Gregg Araki (Courtesy of Sundance Institute)
By Lucy Spicer
Have you checked out our Sundance Film Festival 101 list yet...
04/06/2026
New global program empowers and supports storytellers through scriptwriting course and access to industry experts
TikTok and Sundance Institute today announce...
03/06/2026
Retrieval still courtesy of Tribeca.
By Jessica Herndon
This year, the Tribeca...
02/06/2026
Olivia Wilde, Seth Rogen, Pen lope Cruz, and Edward Norton appear in The Invite by Olivia Wilde, an official selection of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. (Co...
28/05/2026
By Gina McIntyre
(L-R) Sara Dosa and Andri Sn r Magnason attend the Time and Water premiere during the 2026 Sundance Film Festival at Library Center Theatre ...